The Carrierpacs are used to package kitchen worktops and represent environmental and financial efficiency as they save B&Q £1 million in packaging costs and eliminate 1,200 tonnes of cardboard packaging a year.

Visiting the centre following the morning’s regional cabinet meeting in Derby, Caroline Spelman saw how the Carrierpacs have replaced the previous single-use packaging system, which also caused up to 900 tonnes of damaged worktops each year. The Carrierpacs are more robust, and are manufactured from polypropylene with 45% recycled content. They are also recyclable at the end of their life.

Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman said:

“B&Q’s Carrierpac is a great example of the ingenuity shown by British firms in tackling environmental problems. In these straitened financial times it also shows that firms can help both the environment and the bottom line. Improving resource efficiency is a key part of the transition to a green economy.”

Carrierpacs were developed following a successful bid for research and development funding through WRAP’s retail programme. B&Q identified that a reusable packaging solution had the potential to reduce costs and environmental impact. A successful trial revealed a number of other advantages including speed of packing and unpacking and the fact that customers were not left with a large amount of cardboard packaging to dispose of.

Euan Sutherland, Chief Executive for B&Q and Kingfisher UK says:

“B&Q has been leading the way on environmental issues for many years. Our award winning reusable Carrierpac shows how working in collaboration can lead to really innovative solutions that deliver on an environmental and financial basis.”

Packaging consultants Outpace Packaging Solutions worked with B&Q and its logistics partner CEVA Logistics to trial the Carrierpac. After the successful trial was adopted some Carrierpacs have been successfully reused 80 times.